I've been doing rescue and breeding (not Basenjis, and not for 20 yrs now)... and I have to say that among responsible trainers, rescues, breeders and professional veterinary behaviorists, you won't find any who will say under 8 weeks is okay for any breed... and for many, 10 to 12 weeks is recommended. It is in fact illegal to take puppies under 8 weeks from some states and it should be in all of them. Call a few dozen rescues and ask them how many animals they deal with that have issues started from being placed too young. It is good you are working on things, just hopefully the physical responses won't continue. No breed needs to be swatted or even mildly hurt for training. Basenjis even less so than many. It hurts your relationship with the puppy, and you are punishing a baby for being a baby... there is no "rebellious thing"... just normal behavior you have to patiently train away from.
Puppy teething/biting
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I've never had a lot of problems with biting, with either pups or older dogs. I just don't allow them to do it. "No" and disengage, bear hug (physically restrain) if necessary to make them stop, rinse, repeat. Just like their mother would do when they get out of hand. Once they figure out that biting doesn't get them what they want, they quit it. If you reinforce the biting by more play, treats, amusing sounds (yelping will encourage rather than discourage some dogs) you will only have more of it to deal with. Most pups outgrow the nippy stage, but like any unwanted behaviour, you don't just let them continue doing something so it becomes a habit.
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@eeeefarm said in Puppy teething/biting:
I've never had a lot of problems with biting, with either pups or older dogs. I just don't allow them to do it. "No" and disengage, bear hug (physically restrain) if necessary to make them stop, rinse, repeat. Just like their mother would do when they get out of hand. ...
Not the behavior that I observed at all. But then again... Basenji. They never read the manual.
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@jengosmonkey - And as we all know it takes time to teach "no bite" with puppies... this is what they do... with their Mom and Litter mates... takes "way" more than one or two times before they get the idea.. my opinion, live with it... and do what you can..as I said below BUT do not to have it happen with one or two corrections... think of human children and touching things they should not... tell them NO.. and how many times do you do this? It doesn't happen overnight
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@jengosmonkey said in Puppy teething/biting:
Not the behavior that I observed at all. But then again... Basenji. They never read the manual
I've seen it, at my breeder's place, but more when I got Tamu, and Lady pretty much adopted her as her own pup. She would disciple her when she got out of line. Pinned her down and snarled in her face if she got too rough. No harm to the pup, but the message was clear. I don't snarl, but I do say "no" firmly and restrain if they don't quit.
Agree with Tanza that it certainly takes more than one or two corrections, but I have found the "bear hug" is effective if it's consistent. It also helps to get the message across while they are young that if you physically restrain them the key to freedom is not to struggle. It doesn't hurt them and teaches them to accept being picked up and held and to settle down when that happens. Makes things far easier when you need them to be quiet for things like nail clipping or any medical procedure at the vet.
I can certainly see that this wouldn't be an effective tool when you have multiple pups "attacking" from many directions!
"In order to get along with a Basenji, you have to be at least half as smart as the dog!"
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@jengosmonkey said in Puppy teething/biting:
Basenji. They never read the manual
Nope ! And they are full of surprises. You can never predict what they will do next - Kito's latest fad is the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. He likes pears, apples, bananas, Kiwis, avocado pears etc. Oranges have, so far, escaped him. I have to put the bowl somewhere safe and make a fruit salad of the damaged items and a guacamole of the avocados.
Having said that, at least I have never had a puppy nipping. No biting is made clear at a very early age and is a solid no-no.
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@eeeefarm - IT IS VERY, VERY effective to have an adult dog in the home when you bring home a puppy. They will teach that pup more then we humans can.... however that said there is a lot of noise, yelping, snarling, going on.... scares off many humans as they think the pup is being hurt. Rarely that would be the case.
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Oh, I am very aware that Lady helped immensely with Tamu. Of course, I didn't have help when I brought Lady home. Fortunately she learned the rules of the house very quickly. I find horses are similar. Orphan foals can be real terrors because they don't have Mom to show them the ropes and people are often not very good at it. However, if you have a herd they will teach the foal respect, generally without being too tough on it.
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@tanza That goes with bred-in-house litters too ! As soon as the pups' eyes opened and they could more or less race around - mostly backwards - without falling over, we would open the huge cage which contained the whelping box beside the Aga and let them out.
The adults, who also all lived in the kitchen, taught them life skills. The length of time they were out playing with the rest of the pack extended as they grew. One uncle in particular would take them in hand and teach them how to be good, well rounded Basenjis. And when we were lucky enough to have a summer litter - which was quite often - they would play out in the garden.
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@zande - For sure Zande... and taking pups from the pack too early is really not good either. Basenjis need to stay with the pack till at least 10 to 12wks. that is when they learn basic manners....
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@tanza Ours always went at 9 weeks, following the first shot. Given enthusiastic teachers among the adult pack, we found it was ok and gave the pups time to grow into their new homes.
But I do agree, pups brought up in other than a kitchen environment where a great deal is going on - i.e. in a kennel or a back room, should stay with Mom and the aunts and uncles for as long as reasonable.
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@zande - I have place pups at 9wks, but typically to prior Basenji owners, they know the "ropes"... also I do eyes at 9wks, so 10 works better for me in placing pups and yes...(LOL) mine are raised in the home, no kennel.... and the breeders that I know that use kennel runs, still have their pups in the house for house time and "education".....
